Added 7 October 2026
memory
/ˈmɛm.ə.ɹi/ noun
In Latin: memoria Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about memory at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
The ability of the brain to record information or impressions with the facility of recalling them later, usually at will.
Memory is a facility common to all animals.
-
A record of a thing or an event stored and available for later use by an organism.
I have no memory of that event.
-
The part of a computer that stores variable executable code or data (RAM) or unalterable executable code or default data (ROM).
This data passes from the CPU to the memory.
Origin
From Anglo-Norman memorie, Old French memoire etc., from Latin memoria (“the faculty of remembering, remembrance, memory, a historical account”), from memor (“mindful, remembering”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (to remember), related to Ancient Greek μνήμη (mnḗmē, “memory”) μέρμερος (mérmeros, “anxious”), μέριμνα (mérimna, “care, thought”), Old English ġemimor (“mindful, remembering”). More at mimmer. Doublet of memoir and memoria. Displaced native Old English myne (whence English min) and Old English ġemynd, which took on a different meaning as modern mind.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)